July 20th, 2012

Earshot Jazz presented Trio Orangutan in the 2nd in the series, Jazz: The Second Century last night at the Chapel Performance space.Trio Orangutan is Kate Olson (soprano saxophone), Naomi Siegel (trombone) and Jason Levis (percussion).

They play composed pieces and improvise in search of the “timbral possibilities of trombone, soprano and percussion,” Olson writes. As the Syrinx Too, Olson and Siegel have worked on those possibilities at the Racer Sessions, Gallery 1412 and elsewhere.

Olson holds a master’s degree from the University of Michigan. She is an area educator and performs with the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra and the Seattle Conduction Band. Naomi Siegel is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and is now an active performer and music educator in the Seattle area. She regularly performs with Thione Diop, Picoso and other Latin, world and experimental groups. Siegel teaches private trombone lessons and is a member of the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra. Composer, drummer and UC Berkeley doctoral candidate Jason Levis, currently based in Berlin, makes it a trio.

Seattle musicians have new works in development all the time – at house concerts, at weekly jam sessions, in basement studios and at clubs and cafes around Seattle, including the Seamonster and the Royal Room. Jazz: The Second Century is Earshot Jazz’s open question to that artistic community: so, what’s happening now?

Submissions are considered by a peer-review panel made up of musicians, journalists, former Second Century performers and concert producers. Earshot Jazz thanks all the unique and enterprising creative musicians of this city that submitted their work for consideration. Out of all the materials – a range of home recordings, studio materials, live video clips, full bands, duos and more – this year’s schedule follows below with occasional statements submitted with the artist materials.